The State of Syracuse (Pt 1)

Last September, during the primary election season, I posed a few questions to the three candidates running for mayor in Syracuse.  None of them answered me back then, even though I tagged their Twitter accounts in my post.  But I know they were busy.

Stephanie Miner won the primary, and went on to win the general election in a landslide, in part some said because there's no way a Republican can win the seat because of the voting demographic.  To those who think that all city voters will blindly color in the ballot circle of anyone with a picture of an ass on their campaign materials, well, let's just say if that was the case we'd have a lot of recount elections. But I digress.

Miner recently gave her State of the City (SOTC) address, outlining her administration's accomplishments and challenges; there are many of both.  You can get information, including links to a video of her speech, on the City's website.

I thought it might be time to revisit my questions and see whether the Mayor addressed them in her vision for Syracuse for the next four years.

My first question was about how the administration could harness the energy that has led to the development in Armory Square, and do two things -- expand the energy outward to the rest of the center city, and to include businesses, not just residential development.  Our enviable  99% residential occupancy rate downtown is great, but we don't come close to that when you look at storefronts and office buildings. According to Downtown Committee reports, for example, occupancy rates in Q2 2013 ranged from 71.36%  to 90.31%, depending on the type of property. Armory Square had the highest percentage, naturally.

In her speech, Miner noted that several projects have been completed, or are nearing completion, including amazing transformations of Pike Block  and Merchants Commons, along with several new restaurants including Gannon's, Jolime Cafe, Otro Cinco, and the looming return of an old friend, Clark's Ale House. And celebrating these projects is important in more ways than one:

While each of these project is heartening, what is perhaps more exciting is the collective impact on the core of our city.  Each investment builds on the last, and it is now clear that downtown revitalization is not confined to Armory Square.  New life is spreading to Salina Street, Warren Street and beyond. 

She's not blind to the challenges that still exist, most notably the Hotel Syracuse at the southern gateway to downtown. Here's what I said about it last September:

The Hotel Syracuse once helped us meet our civic challenge; it now presents a challenge for city and county officials. It's one of our 'gateway' properties; it's in an area -the Warren Street canyon - that needs attention.  Now's the time for Mayor Miner and her team to help us get this property back in local hands, so that willing local developers can proceed with their plans. 

sue drummond photo

Well, we have a new local developer, who wants to give it a go, and the mayor is on board.  Here's what she said about this "Syracuse gem" and Ed Riley (principal of the Syracuse Community Hotel Restoration Company) who asked they city to begin eminent domain proceedings to get the historic property out of the hands of its Israeli owners:

In response, SIDA (the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency) has authorized a Preferred Developer Agreement with Mr. Riley, declared its intent to act as Lead Agency for the project's environmental review, and authorized a public hearing to be held next month on this eminent domain action...We are excited to work with Mr. Riley and County Executive Mahoney and her team to make this project a reality. 

Riley's project? A $57 million plan for a 261-room Hyatt Hotel, retail on the ground floor, and a restored lobby, among other things.

So, all in all, did she answer my first question, about making downtown bigger than Armory Square?  I think she did.  She knows there's more that needs to be done, and that as a community we can't sit idly by, but  I agree with her, that

...this progress is something that we should all be proud of as a community. 

There will be more progress to come, I'm sure.

Coming up: city neighborhoods and crime.